Room of doom
by Kult maverick
Summary: Sonic is knocked out by Robotnik, only to wake up find himself in a bizarre room. How does he escape? Does he escape? Find out this Halloween!


Disclaimer:- The characters are not owned by me. Robotnik……. I mean Sega owns them.

Doctor Robotnik looked down at the blue hedgehog lying prone before him and grinned. After so many years, after so long, his one nemesis was at his mercy, right at his feet, unconscious. The fat one allowed himself a laugh at his own success before picking up Sonic, keeping the prickly spines still posing a threat away from his own body and letting the hedgehog's limps arms dangle away from his smaller body. Still laughing, he considered the challenge this had been, to have Sonic like this, right in his hands and helpless. It had been such a challenge that he didn't even dare hand his prisoner to one of his robots if only to keep those nasty quills away or to save him the trouble of heavy lifting. There was no way he was letting the hedgehog go this time. Oh no! The Doctor had plans….. especially for this formidable adversary. It wasn't just anyone who could stand up to the Doctor as much as Sonic had done, after all.

Still laughing, Robotnik carried the hedgehog down a metal hall, down towards a certain room he had especially for Sonic and carry out those "plans."

-

This first thing Sonic noticed was that his head hurt, too much for him to open his eyes. Sluggishly he brought a hand to his throbbing forehead feeling for a bump, and when finding none massaged his temples, trying to relieve the ache with little luck. Subconsciously he remembered that a lot of headaches, (hangovers being at least one example) were caused by a lack of water, so maybe that would help. He was thirsty anyway, and a cool glass might help his forehead a bit. But he couldn't get water by just lying where he was. He reluctantly opened his eyes and snapped them shut again when they were met with bright light. Groaning he covered them and rolled over, facing the pillow and burying his forehead in the pillow and holding his head, trying to massage out the throbbing ache still there. It hurt too much to think of anything else other than getting rid of the headache now, much less recall what had happened to him or figure out where he was.

He laid like that for some time, and slowly his headache eased, but his throat became more and more dry. Eventually he managed to lift his head up enough and open his eyes a crack to look for water. He barely noticed that he was in an unfamiliar room before he spotted what looked like a tap. He squeezed his eyes shut to blink away the grogginess and opened his eyes, now more used to the light. Yes! In a wall was what looked like one of those water cooler taps set into it, and there was cup right there waiting to be filled. It looked pretty far right now, even if it was a small room, what with the way Sonic was feeling right now. But he wasn't going to let that stop him.

He rolled off the bed and dropped down onto a plush blue carpet that was heaven on his aching body (not that the bed was that bad either, come to think of it). He stared at the tap for a moment, imagining fresh, crystal clear icy water, before struggling to get up and trudge towards the tap, grabbing the cup and taking a few sips before downing cup after cup. He took the fifth one with him back towards the bed where he flopped down and put the cup against his forehead, and just stared at the ceiling for a while until the headache finally eased altogether. Only then did his mind wander enough for him to start asking where he was and how did he get there. He remembered he had been fighting Robotnik again, and had defeated his latest creation, only to find the room he had been in had been sealed. Before he could figure a way out the room it was flooded with some kind of gas. Robotnik was safe from it in the cockpit of his downed machine, but Sonic………

Then, only blackness, and a slight memory in his subconscious of maniacal laughter. Sonic figured that this would mean he had been captured then. But if so, why was he not in some old stone cell? Why was he here, in a room with a nice soft bed, blue carpets, and water cooler with what looked like a digital clock above it? It was too comfortable for it to be one of Robotnik's prison cells. Putting the cup on the floor nearby and scratching his head in thought, the hedgehog came to the conclusion that although he had been in Robotnik's mercy maybe he wasn't now, maybe he had been rescued or something and perhaps no longer a prisoner. Optimistic at the thought, Sonic got up and looked around the room for a door, spotting it and trying out the handle. It wasn't locked! Getting even more hopeful, he twisted it and opened the door to see what was outside.

Only to be met with a brick-wall blocking his exit.

"What the…..?" Sonic flinched, staring at the red wall in surprise, realising that maybe he was a prisoner after all. Stepping back a moment, Sonic looked around again for another door out of the room. On the same wall he found the first door, on the other side of the bed, was an entrance into a small bathroom but there weren't any windows. The rest of the room was featureless except for the wall opposite the bed which was taken up a by a large screen, and the wall with the water cooler which had a small door that opened up to what looked like a microwave next to it. Nothing else. No more windows or doors, nothing. Even the toilet was too small for him to fit in (if he'd even try an escape plan like that). He returned to the first door and tried spin dashing the wall but he couldn't even chip it. He tried spin dashing the other walls and the one with the big screen but that didn't work either and the screen just seemed to bounce him off. He tried and tried again until he stopped, and stood panting, wondering what was going on. He was a prisoner all right, but who was keeping him? If it was Robotnik, why was he kept in a place like this? Still panting, he walked back over to the bed and sat back down, holding his head in his hands and thinking. Maybe he could wait and one of his friends could rescue him. If they even knew where he was…… Sonic sulked, if there was one thing he hated it was waiting, especially cooped up in some cell, even a comfortable one like this.

Another though occurred to him, if he couldn't get out, how in the world did he get in? Maybe there was some sort of secret entrance he had been snuck through. Brightened by the thought, he got up again and tried searching the room that was his prison. He didn't have any further luck than before trying to smash his way out, but at least he was able to get a bigger inspection of the place.

He tried the tap and the microwave, looking around for loose bolts or anything. He tried turning the tap this way and that,, making the wall wet, then tried the microwave, but the stupid thing didn't even have a keypad next to it like most microwaves did. Just a digital clock above it displaying the time just like the tap, and what looked like a loudspeaker, although what that was for, Sonic couldn't guess. He tried the bathroom next. It had the normal toilet, a tap for hand washing with soap, towels and a mirror. The shower creeped him out though; it looked exactly like a roboticizer, and Sonic decided to steer clear of it. He tried the mirror, hoping it would have a hidden entrance behind it but just like the water cooler it was set into the wall. He didn't find much, and only noticed that his reflection looked grubby, like he had been rolling around in the dirt before he was dumped into this place. He needed a shower, but then again the shower didn't look right….

He glanced back at the mirror again, and was it just him or was he now dirtier than he was two seconds ago? Moving out of the bathroom he looked at the carpet, the same blue as his fur, and a funny thought occurred to him, that it was wrong for his grubby form to mess up something so well kept. Glancing once again at the evil looking shower he decided that it probably only looked just like a shower and wasn't really a roboticizer. He inspected it closer and saw that it had three taps; hot water, cold water, and roboticize. Well there wasn't any fear of him moving that tap. He twisted the other two and kept back just in case, sighing with relief when only water came out.

He waved his hand under the water hesitantly just in case, and made sure the temperature was right before removing his shoes and stepping in. There was even soap, shampoo and conditioner in here, conveniently. He even found a brush for scrubbing and hair gel, not that he used it this time. Even so, he stood well away from the knobs and didn't touch them until he was out of the shower again, and he kept on shooting glances at the lens looming evilly above his head. Nothing happened except that he came out cleaner than before, feeling refreshed.

Drying himself off, he felt comfortable enough and sat back down on the bed. Remembering that there might be a secret entrance he looked up and the ceiling but didn't spot anything besides a light. Then his attention turned to the wide screen in front of him. Why was that there? Was whoever imprisoning him going to communicate with him through that? How did you even turn it on anyway? He couldn't see any buttons for it. Maybe there was a remote control or something. Looking around a moment he found a game pad that he hadn't noticed before. It wasn't connected to anything by wire but maybe it was remote control itself.

As soon as he touched it though the screen flickered on to life and a after a moment of loading, what looked like the main menu became available. It looked like he was a player in one of those action style games with a bar for health and other goodies in the top corners of the screen, in first person view, but with a start menu in the bottom left corner. The background was a digital picture of what looked like some drab laboratory, distorted slightly although for what reason why Sonic couldn't guess. It looked like some place Robotnik might have and it looked familiar somehow but the hedgehog could quite remember where he had seen the place before. It left no doubt (along with the roboticizer shower) who had imprisoned him though; it was definitely Robotnik. But why in a cell like the one he was in, Sonic didn't know.

He tried moving the joystick this way and that hoping he could make the background move but it didn't, it just moved a cursor. Bored with that Sonic tried the start menu. There were one or two video games, but no card games or anything of any other sort. There were some video files labelled as spots around Robotnik's latest fortress. Clicking on them and watching the video in the new window popping up it dawned on Sonic that he was watching security cameras. Why Robotnik would allow him that was beyond the hedgehog, but he wasn't about to complain. Maybe while he stayed in this place he could learn something. Leaving two or three windows open at once (in small view) Sonic spent a moment watching and waiting but as typical he was too restless to do that and was starting to feel that this waiting was making him hungry and thirsty again. He downed what was left in his cup and tried twisting the water tap but this time nothing came out.

"What in the world? This thing gave me water earlier!" The speedster winced, furiously twisting the tap this way and that. Maybe it had run out? He tried the tap in the bathroom but that one didn't have running water either. Even the shower had nothing. Did he just use up all of his water getting himself clean? The hedgehog began to worry, was he going to die of thirst here? (And while he was at it, why weren't there any air vents?) He moved back to the water cooler in the wall and tried that again. No water came out, but this time he noticed the digital clock above it was no longer displaying the time, instead it had red letters now reading "Password required."

"Huh? Password? I didn't need that before." Sonic pondered to himself. Trouble was, even if he knew what password he had to use (which he didn't), there didn't seem to be anyway to enter it. There was no keypad, just a loudspeaker between it and the microwave………

Or maybe it wasn't a speaker, maybe it was a microphone. Maybe this was a computer that used voice commands. It worth a shot, but he still had no clue as to what the password would be. He stood for a moment, trying to figure this one out. This was obviously Robotnik who was keeping him here. And this was a Doctor whom he well knew enough to have an ego. He decided to try guessing, hopefully he'll eventually get it right.

"Okay, you dumb machine. You want a password, eh? Okay then, how about 'Robotnik?'" Sonic leaned down and spoke into the microphone. He glanced at the digital screen, but it hadn't changed. "No? How about 'Doctor?' 'Egg?' 'Robot?' Ooh, I know, how about 'Robotnik Rules?' Orrrrr 'All hail Robotnik?'" He glanced at the digital screen, this time it said something different; "Oh, C'mon, say it was spirit!"

"Ah-ha! Now we're in business! Okay then!" Sonic crossed his arms and grinned, then cleared his throat for a moment, and mustering as much fake seriousness and drama into his voice as he could, while swallowing a good portion of his pride, he announced.

"All Hail Robotnik!"

"Password accepted." The screen announced.

Sonic gagged a bit, but placed his cup under the tap and sure enough, out came running water. Well, that was a success, even though it did feel a touch ridiculous. His thirst satiated, he placed the cup in the alcove under the tap and sighed. He had water now, but it didn't look like there was anything around to eat. He wondered what the point of the microwave was, then looked at the digital readout above that. This one was now reading "Please select food item"

"Select food item?" Sonic repeated. "What does that mean? What food item? What about chilli dogs?"

Suddenly a light glowed from the microwave and after a couple of seconds it dinged and the door opened, and inside the microwave, instead of there being nothing, was a hot chilli dog waiting to be eaten.

"Alright!" The blue hedgehog laughed in delight, grabbing the chilli dog about to wolf it down, but hesitated. This was Robotnik who was giving out the food here. A slight suspicion trickled into the back of his mind…. But no, it wouldn't have been poisoned. Robotnik already had plenty of opportunities to poison him while he was trapped here, but he hadn't yet. He could have been poisoned when he first grabbed the water when he woke up, come to think of it. He mentally kicked himself for being careless.

"Then again." He thought to himself. "Nothing bad happened then, and he could have gassed me anyway, and if I'm not dead now, I don't think he's going to poison me now either." He shrugged and was about to chow into the chilli dog but stopped again. "Unless….He doesn't want me dead right away, maybe he wants me to die slowly… But if he didn't, wouldn't I have started feeling it already? So maybe not." A third time he was about to bite in but he stopped himself. "Maybe he doesn't want me dead, or suffering. Maybe he wants to brainwash me. What if there's something in this stuff that'll take away my free will….. But He could have done that already." His eyes drifted towards the roboticizer-shower before looking down at the meal whose delicious smell was driving him nuts with hunger. There didn't seem to be any possible threat with his food, not since he had been open to whatever threat possible already, but something didn't sit right with him. Maybe because this was food instead of water, but food didn't usually come for free. Maybe from his friends yes, but from Robotnik, his enemy? There had to be some kind of catch. Sonic couldn't think of anything though and shrugged, finally biting into the bread roll, scoffing his food down in to time and finding no ill effects anyway.

Flopping down onto the bed, and watching the various security files on the wide screen opposite uneasily, the speedster began to wonder, it was definitely his nemesis keeping him here, so why was he doing that? Why was he here? What was the Doctor up to this time? He almost wished that he was being threatened with death right now, stupid as he felt that thought was, at least he would know what he would be facing. The fact that Robotnik wasn't making an effort to kill him now was starting to creep Sonic out but why he didn't know…….. He fell asleep watching the screen and trying to figure out what the Doctor was up to now.

-

Sonic woke up again with a start, remembering where he was and that was a prisoner still. He jumped out of bed again alert and ready for action but nothing had changed, the room was exactly like it was when he had fallen asleep, even the security files had the same views as before. If the clocks above the cooler and the microwave/ instant food making thingy weren't now 7.24 instead of 10.15 he wouldn't have guessed that any time had passed. Nothing had happened, and he calmed down and sat back down on his bed again. Damn it, where were his friends? Wasn't anyone going to rescue him out of this dump? At least he had gotten plenty of rest.

"Not that there seemed to be anything else I could do right now except sleep and eat.' He noted to himself gloomily, head resting on his hands and looking forlorn. Unable to sit that way for long though, Sonic took a few paces back and forth across the room, wanting to do something, anything to pass the time. It was morning anyway, and he wished he was back at home. Or anywhere but here. It didn't matter that this place was comfortable and provided all his needs, he wanted to go out and run, he need the wind against his face, to be on grass fields zooming by at the speed of sound, among fresh air, free. He could have at least have done with some sunlight, at least. He paced some more and did a few stretches that he would do in the morning, and shrugged, trying to be optimistic. At least he wasn't in a dingy cell, and the place was nice for a cell. And sooner or later his friends would rescue him.

Then again he should put some effort into his escape himself. For a second time, he tried spin-dashing the walls and anything else he could find looking for a weak spot, but nothing even seemed to break here, which was weird. The brick wall still sat there as immobile as ever, and Sonic wondered if he was brought in here before this place had been sealed with said wall, trapping him inside forever. He hoped not, and there had to be a way out, he just had to put his mind to it. He tried looking for secret entrances two or three more times to no avail, before stopping and sitting back down on the bed again.

"How am I supposed to get out of here? There has to be a way out somehow. Glum, he moved towards the food-maker and spoke into to the microphone, already figuring out how the thing worked. "Fruit salad." It was too early for chilli-dogs, and he liked being healthy.

"Password required."

"Oh great this again." Sonic rolled his eyes, grimacing. "All right then." Swallowing, he gave himself a moment before once again speaking with fake pride "All hail Robotnik!" The blue one smiled wryly as the light shone from the compartment behind the little door and a plastic bowl of fruit pieces appeared. There wasn't any spoon but Sonic didn't care and with no one around it didn't seem necessary. He ate and wondered just how many kinds of food the food-maker in front of him could make, (it didn't seem to be able to make any utensil that he might be able to use for escape like a knife or a spoon, unfortunately,) before finishing it off and moving into the bathroom to wash his hand. Gosh, his face in the mirror seemed extra-grubby today. He wondered just how he got so dirty in such a short time not even doing anything, it was like someone snuck him out of the place, dumped him into a puddle of mud, and sealed him back in here. Weird. But it was nothing a short, relaxing shower couldn't fix, and he wasted no time taking off his shoes again and cleaning himself, this time not afraid of the lens above him but staying away from the water knobs just in case, he didn't want to hit them accidentally. Once cleaned and dried for the day, he sat in front of the big screen taking up that one wall and one glance at the security monitors made him bored in a flash. He did notice a couple of video games in the start menu, so he picked up the controller and looked. No, one game by the looks of it. He clicked the file and waited for the program to load. Once it did though a message appeared.

"Are you sure you wish to proceed?" There wasn't any buttons to select such as "Yes" or "no" on the screen this time, and Sonic scratched his head in confusion, wondering how to reply to the query. The food-maker was voice activated, maybe this computer was too.

"Yes." He tried. Another message popped up.

"Yes, who?"

"Uuh, yes sir?" The speedster asked, utterly bewildered now. The same message as last time, "Yes, who?" popped up again. The hedgehog shrugged. Just what was it with all these guessing games anyway?

"Yes ma'am?" He tried. "Yes mister? Yes Doctor? Yes Master?"

The last one brought results, and that trickle of fear Sonic had felt last night returned, but he still couldn't put his finger on the problem. Back to the new pop-up message, this one now said "C'mon, say it with 'Ooomph."

This time Sonic decided to be a smart-arse. "Yes Master oomph." He sneered. The pop-up from before "Yes, who?" appeared again, and the speedster's eyes rolled. "Okay, okay…. Yes Master." Finally the pop-up messages disappeared and the game program began to start. Sonic wondered what sort of game it was. It wasn't long before he found out, and once he did, he could only wrinkle his nose in disgust muttering "Stupid Robotnik". The video game was something Robotnik would typically make, by the look of things. The player played as one of the Doctor's robots in some shooter-style game while the enemies he was supposed to shoot were some kind of graphical representations of his friends. Tossing the controller back down onto the carpet, he went back to pacing his room, and must have circled the room over a hundred times, and had done many more stretching exercises before flopping back down onto the bed, sick of the monotony.

"Alright, alright. There's nothing else to do." The speedster finally said, and turned the game on again, the first attempt lost since it was left unplayed. "Besides it isn't that bad." A few minutes later Sonic started getting into the game, and kept on throwing out comments to no-one, such as "No, move!", "Get off of me! No, get out of the way!", "Oh, this time you're dead Tails! I'll get you this time!" and "No! I almost beat you!" among other such complaints one focused intently on a video game would spout out, with the misfortune that the objects of this player's wrath being that it was his friends (Or pixellated representations of them.) He kept reminding himself that it was just a game, and it felt good to voice his complaints, even if it was to no-one. He spent the whole day apparently on it, until he began to wonder if who-ever might have decided to rescue him hadn't over-heard him, gotten offended and walked off, leaving him in his cell. At this point Sonic decided to switch off, slightly ashamed but assured that that wasn't likely to have happened, and it was only a game anyway.

He moved back towards the food maker and again announced "All hail Robotnik!" and it didn't seem as difficult as before, Sonic was already getting used to the way this place worked. Asking for several chilli-dogs, the hedgehog flopped back onto his bed and wondered as he ate, just were where his friends anyway? They should have turned up by now. He was starting to feel the slightest bit of resentment towards them, and he was starting to feel cranky enough to punch whoever turned up for making him wait. But he quickly wiped the thought away. Where-ever he was, it was probably hard to get to. Or find. Maybe it was hard to infiltrate, and for all he knew there could be armies of robots waiting just outside his cell. Maybe there wasn't a way in and his friends where trying to work out how to get in. Or maybe they had been injured and had to retreat or……. No, Sonic couldn't think like that. He had to have hope.

He was starting to feel worried though. Who know what trouble Tails and the others where in, trying to save him, or perhaps risking there lives doing something else just as important (and this reminded Sonic that maybe there was something else to be done like saving the planet or whatever that was more important than his rescue.), and the speedster felt guilty, he wasn't in any trouble. He was safe and comfortable, well fed and clean. But while he was spending his time playing video games and eating chilli-dogs other people were risking their lives saving him and others. And it wasn't as if Sonic was in any danger anyway, not by the look of things. Maybe they shouldn't try to break him out. Maybe he should try doing it himself, but he couldn't, he had tried, and there didn't seem to be any escape. So all he could do was sit around in safety, and it couldn't be helped. He'd just had to deal with it until help arrived, or he got out, or something happened anyway.

He sure was starting to feel lonely though. He was starting to wish he could see even Robotnik's face. Where was he, anyway? And just why was Sonic safe now? Something wasn't right, but as much as that set the hedgehog on edge, it couldn't stop sleep from overcoming him.

-

Sonic woke up again to the same old (to him now) and tired room. Once again, nothing had changed except the time. Oh yeah and now he was grubby again, he noticed once he passed the mirror on the way to the loo. But just how that kept on happening Sonic had no clue. Oh well he just need to shower again, no problem. He wasted no time doing so, without even a glance up at the roboticizer lens, then walked out back towards the bed to dry himself. But when he did, checking himself in the mirror, he noticed that while the outer part of his fur was clean, the inner bits closer to his skin was still dirty. Not only that.

"Aw no! Not fleas!" The hedgehog wrinkled his muzzle in disgust, running back towards the shower, this time to use that scrubbing brush and give himself an extra clean. He was starting to feel slightly jealous of humans, not having any fur except that on their heads, and sometimes not even there. It didn't seem that they had as big a problem with fleas or other parasites hiding away nestled in their fur, all they'd have to do was look at their bare skin and the bug would be spotted and easily scratched off. Then again, all those clothes make that advantage moot. Reptiles on the other hand probably didn't have that problem either. And they had scales protecting them like armour. But he wasn't a reptile, he was a hedgehog, and a fast one to boot, and he felt he should be proud of his species. Even if being a fur ball did make him vulnerable to fleas.

A second shower later, he dried himself, checking himself over for fleas and finding little to none, he asked for another fruit salad after praising Robotnik (although adding a "thanks for nothing you fat lard" to himself once he got his breakfast). He tried looking at the security cameras again and tried looking at other files on the computer before him for any kind of news but found little of interest. Damn it what was he supposed to do? He was sick of that one stupid video game as it was and he couldn't do exercises all day. He wished he could get out but even when he tried again there didn't seem to be any way out. Yes, he was safe, but he was bored……. And lonely too. He wished he could communicate to his friends, at least let them know that he was okay. But there didn't seem to be any way to do that. He flopped back onto his bed and imagined being out under the blue sky zooming at the speed of sound, sunlight slanting through rich green trees while he ran by as free as a bird. It wasn't long before he got bored again and began pacing up and down, agitated.

Several hundred laps later, Sonic finally got fed up and stopped and faced the ceiling, as if talking to an invisible camera there. "All right, that's it! Robotnik! Can you hear me? I bet you can! Let me out of here! Let me out of here, right now! I'm going to get you for trapping me in here! Robotnik! Why don't you show yourself, you big fat coward! Let me out of here!"

His outburst produced no reply, though, and left him heaving with suppressed rage. He ranted some more before swinging that blasted door open and attacking the brick wall furiously, alternating between punching his knuckles raw against it, kicking it, and spin dashing it. Angry as he was, he managed to knock out a flake of clay, and that one unimpressive feat drove the energy right out of him and he collapsed back onto the cobalt blue carpet, holding that one chip of red and staring at it, wondering how thick that wall was anyway, and starting to wonder if he'd ever escape or maybe, just maybe he'd be spending the rest of his life here….

He shook his head, snapping out of his misery. No, he reminded himself, he mustn't think like that. There had to be a way. There had to… But Sonic had tried, he really had, and he couldn't figure out how. He finally let his body flop against the wall and he rested his forehead, hot from rage and tears he refused to let flow, against the cool stone, forlorn, still holding that one chip of red brick. No, he wasn't giving in; he just had to be patient. Yeah, he wasn't the best person for patience, but he had faith something would come up, the issue was simply waiting. All he had to do was keep himself occupied. His eyes drifted away from the brick wall and towards the wide screen, and reluctantly moved to pick up that damn controller again. He wasn't hungry enough to ask for any chilli dogs that night though.

-

Sonic groaned as he woke up again, growling when he found himself in the same room again, and no news that the screen gave him. He tried the door again as if the wall would miraculously disappear but of course it didn't, and this had been going on for a whole week now. Cranky, he headed for the typical morning routine of going for the toilet, and…. Yes, once again, when he looked at himself in the mirror, he was a filthy as ever.

"Aww, geez, not those fleas again!" The hedgehog winced. "Damn it, why does this keep happening?" He glanced at the bed he had slept in, but it looked pretty clean. How did all that dirt get inside in the first place? Maybe he should try staying up one night and watching, it might help him find a way out. He looked at the ceiling, but no, there weren't any trapdoors or anything. Besides, he had checked up there before. He slipped off his shoes, slightly disgusted with his socks which had gone several days without washing. He wanted his shoes on for a quick getaway once he could get out, but maybe until that happened he should leave them off. Or maybe he could wash them in the bathroom sink? Finishing his shower he moved to do just that when a further look in the mirror made him notice that he was still dirty and flea-ridden. Cursing, he dropped the socks and moved back into the shower for another scrub. At this rate his skin would be raw. And the fur made it a nuisance, he wondered if maybe life would be easier without it. It would be cool to be human and scratch off mosquitoes and ticks and fleas with ease. Or reptiles, it would be cool to be a chameleon or a turtle, scales and armour would be cool. Or maybe a robot, that would be cool too, and the nasty little bugs wouldn't have any blood to suck, anyway. He wouldn't have to worry about catching diseases, and any dirt would wash off easily without any fur to catch on…….

Sonic stopped cold. He gave one short glance at the lens above him to make sure it really was off, and shakily stepped out of the shower. Nuts to fleas, nuts to dirt. He backed out, still wet, and not caring, sitting back down on the bed. His hands shook. What had he been thinking?

He threw his hands away from his vision, taking in a deep breath. It was nothing, of course. Just some stupid little thought. He laughed to himself in relief. It was nothing! Nothing! And here he was, making the bed wet and leaving the water on with that nothing thought. No, he had nothing to worry about, nothing. Still laughing, he moved back into the bathroom and turned the water off on the shower. He didn't step back in and finish his clean, though, and deep down, though he refused to admit it, he was beginning to feel more than worried. He sped away from the shower and dried himself up top speed, forgetting about fleas altogether. He walked stiffly over to the water cooler, feeling thirsty, took in a deep breath, ready to speak out the password……

…And stopped short, clamping a hand over his mouth (Still raw from attacking the brick wall previously but healing). No, he wasn't going to say it, not this time. But tried to resist as he did, he had to say it. It was morning, his throat was dry, especially being in that shower, seeing all that water and drinking nothing, and not even having breakfast yes, he was so hungry….

"No! I won't say it!" Gritting his teeth and collapsing back onto the carpet. But then, right then, all by itself, then the food-maker activated, it's lights glowed, and a chilli dog appeared on the plate inside next to a plastic bowl of fruit, and he could smell the food from here, damn it that made him hungry. He gasped in surprise and made a dash for the door, but even with his speed, the door slammed shut before he could reach it. He tried opening it, but now it was stuck. Or locked. He looked at the digital display above it.

"C'mon, say it with spirit!"

"No!" He spun away from the food-maker, and headed back to the bed. He wasn't going to say it, not any more. Forget the food, he'd rather starve……..

Then a pop-up appeared on the wide screen, and what looked like a television commercial came up. Sonic thought little of it, grabbed the controller and moved to close up the window. But every time he did, it wouldn't close…..It simply stayed up.

Sonic twitched.

Then an image of a chilli-dog appeared on the screen.

"Thick, rich spicy chilli sauce drizzled over a juicy sausage on fresh, steaming hot white bread straight out of the oven!" a seductive female voice drew out. Sonic abruptly swivelled away and clamped his hands over his ears, now flat against his head. Not that it helped much, the voice was too loud. Even his hands and the added help of the pillow didn't drown it out.

"Fresh, crispy, sweet, juicy seedless watermelon…….." The advertisement chanted. Sonic fumbled for the controller, there had to be a volume control on there somewhere…….

"Cool, creamy ice cream, covered with rich chocolate sauce, and sprinkled with five kinds of sweets!"

He checked every corner of the screen, but there didn't seem to be any volume control anywhere. Come to think of it, there didn't seem to be any way to turn the screen off either.

Oh dear……

"Thick, juicy steak, grilled on a woodstove, and sprinkled with five kinds of spices….."

"Alright!" Sonic snapped relenting, if only to shut that woman, whoever it was, up. Come to think of it, he had forgotten why he had been protesting in the first place. Waltzing over to the food-maker, he dropped down to the microphone, and announced; "All hail Robotnik!"

The door didn't open though, and when Sonic tried to open it, it was still locked.

"Are you sure you wish to proceed?" The digital screen above asked.

"Yes!" The hedgehog snapped at it.

"Yes, who?" The screen asked.

"Yes, master." The speedster replied, willing himself to be calm.

"Good boy." The screen reply. The door didn't open however. Instead, he felt as if he had eaten a whole plate of chilli dogs, and could almost still taste them in his mouth…….. But he hadn't even touched any food. His thirst and hunger had gone, and he was satisfied, but he hadn't even eaten, all he had done was……….

"What the hell? How did……?" His hand flew to his mouth, half expecting a chilli-dog to have transported itself into his mouth, but no.

"This….. Is getting weird…." The hedgehog began backing off, well away from the food maker, and decided to forget what just happened. It wasn't possible, so of course it couldn't have happened. It was creepy too. He turned back towards the wide screen, and thankfully that advertisement had gone. Shaking his head, Sonic flopped back down onto the bed.

"I'm going crazy in here, that must be it."

After a moment Sonic became bored again and he started doing his usual routine exercises, with the occasional spin-dash against the walls for good measure, persistent on finding a way to escape as he was. He stopped this by mid-day, not because he was tired, but because of the monotony. So he grabbed the controller for the screen in front of him and decided to play that video game again. This time, when he began uploading the program, another pop-up message appeared.

"Password required."

"Aww, don't tell me this thing needs a password too now?" Groaning in frustration, the speedster tried the one he had used to activate the food-maker, and though that didn't activate it, Sonic found he was once again feeling the strangest feeling that he no longer needed lunch which he had been hungry for just moments before, and was now feeling satisfied. Shaking his head, the hedgehog tried other similar comments so he could play the game, but nothing worked. Sonic found it odd, he didn't need one before, all it usually asked for before was for him to say was "Yes, master."

Suddenly he realised what he was being asked to say, and, cold dread entering his chest once again, he swallowed, then spoke;

"What is you command, Master?"

"Password accepted." The pop-up said for a few seconds before the video game loaded, leaving Sonic free to play it. But he didn't, or at least not at first. His tan chest heaved as he began to hyperventilate, his eyes wide for a moment before his brow furrowed, and he grit his teeth, angry.

"Damn you Robotnik!" Sonic yelled, grabbing the controller, and deciding to experiment, moved his robot character to shoot other "fellow" robots. But when he did try, aiming for the bot, another pop-up message appeared before he could manage to attack.

"Bad boy."

Trying to click the message box never worked, and the game froze, so once again Sonic couldn't do anything with the computer. Pressing buttons furiously on the controller, he threw it hard onto the carpet, although it didn't break like he had hoped it would. Growling in frustration, the hedgehog flipped off the bed and paced. It wasn't until an hour later until the pop-up changed to "Do you wish to proceed?"

"Stupid game." Sonic muttered to himself. But having little else to do, he picked up the controller, and spoke the required reply.

"Yes Master."

By the look of things, the program wouldn't allow him to shoot other robots. Not that he felt that it should matter that much. There were other games that probably didn't allow this either. And that was all it was, after all; just a game.

He didn't dare try and ask for food that night though.

-

The next morning when Sonic woke, he found that the room had somehow shrunk in size. The ceiling loomed just millimetres above his ears when he stood up, and there was barely enough room for the bed alone, and had just enough carpet beyond to span the door, which had shifted walls. The big screen opposite still spanned the one wall, even if that wall was smaller. The food-maker and water-cooler had disappeared, and there was only a large microphone spanning the wall above his bed, then again he didn't seem to need them anymore.

As he laid on the bed, looking around, he wondered if had been placed into another room. Maybe this one would be easier to get out of. Getting up, he checked the door but just like last time it was blocked, this time by a thick metal wall, which didn't even dent when Sonic attacked it. He tried looking for secret exits, but there wasn't anything. It was like he had been sealed into this room too, although the metal wall seemed more promising than the brick one, even if it did look rather formidable. Scratching his head, he gave his examination of this new room a break, needing to go to the toilet. The bathroom was the same as before, albeit slightly smaller. He checked himself in the mirror and wasn't surprised to find that he was grubby again. Sighing, he shrugged, took off his shoes, and stepped into the shower, then stopped when he noticed two of the knobs for the water were absent, leaving only one; "Roboticize."

Shuddering, he stepped out of the shower and put his shoes back on, he didn't care how flea-ridden he was today, he wasn't going to try that. Another glance at the mirror made him doubt his decision for a moment, but he waved the thought off, even when the thought of little mites and dirt underneath his fur nagged him as he walked back to his bed to sit down, holding his head in his hands, disturbed.

It still being morning, he thought of breakfast, and almost automatically spoke out the typical password before stopping himself. Head still under his hands, he turned to look at the large microphone above his bed through his fingers, and decided to see what happened if he said something different altogether.

"You know," Sonic started, lifting his head and glaring at the circle of holes, "What I really think of Robotnik? I don't think he should be hailed. I think he's a big fat loser!"

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a pop-up message appear on the wall screen, and he smirked for a moment when he read the words; "Bad boy."

"That's right…." He grinned, arms crossed, about to launch into another tirade, but stopped when something odd happened. While before, whenever he had said the password "All Hail Robotnik," he had begun to have his hunger and thirst mysteriously alleviated, this time, when he had said what he did, his stomach began to rumble and he was beginning to feel even more hungry than before. At once he knew what was happening now, and he shook his head.

"No. I don't care how hungry I am. I still say he sucks, big time!" He stood up and stamped his foot as if to emphasize his point, and his hunger began to grow even more, his stomach virtually becoming a black hole, and to add to that, he hadn't "eaten" the night before, either.

"Yeah, that's right. A big, fat loser, with a capital L."

Geez, he could really go for a chilli dog right now. Determined to stand firm though, he lifted his chin up defiantly, fists clenched at his sides, and continued.

"…….And the only hail he should be getting is a few good chunks of ice right on his eggy, bald head!" His throat getting dry, the hedgehog figured maybe he should stop now, already making his point. He sat back down on the bed, arms crossed again, and feeling quite proud of himself. Until his stomach began voicing it's complaint. Sonic laid back down on the bed, ignoring it, he wasn't going to give in this time.

But as he lay there, instead of staying as hungry and as thirsty as he was, his throat seemed to get worse. It wasn't long before thoughts of the satisfaction he'd get saying that "password" crept into his mind. And the longer he laid there, the more it continued to get worse, until his mouth began to feel like sand paper. Determined to stay defiant, he rolled off the bed and entered the bathroom again, maybe he could get some water from the hand-basin.

Trudging into the even smaller room, he tried twisting the only two water faucets there, but nothing came out. A glance at the wide screen in the room beyond, and saw the pop-up message now reading "Password, required."

"No!" Sonic yelped, continuing to screw the faucet around but getting nothing out, his throat screaming for relief, feeling like the Sahara desert. "No!"

Oh, C'mon, say it was spirit!" the pop-up message now read.

"No! No! No!" Sonic dropped down to his knees, hyperventilating, his resistance beginning to crumble, thoughts of release and how easy it would be to get it nagging his mind, and getting to the point where he could stand it no longer.

"Okay, okay!" Sonic finally gave in, panting, and after a final reluctant pause, he spoke aloud.

"All hail Robotnik."

Oh, the relief! It was like a downpour after years of drought, and his mouth finally felt right. His stomach felt content, not too full, but no longer hungry. He was satisfied again, and he could almost taste a few traces of chilli and bread and other goodies on his tongue. Letting out a sigh, he relaxed against the tiled bathroom wall, and took a moment before getting back up, and spotting himself in the mirror. Once he saw himself though, he almost screamed. His fur, usually blue, was barely visible under the brown muck now caking it, and he could visibly see fleas crawling underneath what miscoloured fur he could see. Not only fleas, either; he could see ticks now wriggling amongst his spine, biting down and….

"Aaaaah!" This time Sonic did scream,. And began scratching himself all over, wanting to get rid of the parasites. He really, really wanted a shower right now. Even some kind of flea powder would do, if only to get rid of the vermin now on him. Still scratching, he lifted his head to the shower, but there wasn't going to be any water coming out of this one, that he knew. But, oh, he felt so filthy! He really needed a good clean, and he idly wondered if even a shower could get rid of this problem.

It had been several days now, since Sonic had been in the new, smaller room. And he hadn't been able to shower once. He avoided looking in the mirror or look down at his body, every time he did he ended up feeling queasy. He wondered what would happen to the food that always mysteriously appeared in his mouth if he threw up. Would it disappear as magically as it had appeared? _Was_ there even any food he had eaten, or was he just made to feel satisfied?

He tried asking the screen for water to wash himself with, with little success. He begged even, surprised by how naturally it came for him to do so, along with spouting out mindless praise to Robotnik. Unfortunately, considering how long he had been staying in this room, it was inevitable he would catch sight of his fur and almost freak out at the sight of vermin and dirt. He scratched and scratched, but it did little good.

Yes he really needed flea-powder, or one of those creams. But there wasn't any, and he couldn't shower, and the only way he could solve this problem was to become a robot. But he wouldn't, he couldn't, despite how dirty he felt, he wouldn't do that. There was no way in hell he was going to give up his free will……….

Suddenly he stopped scratching himself and paused, another thought occurring to him, one that made his mouth twist into the oddest of grins, and he began laughing.

"……What free will?" He grinned again. "Heh heh heh!" Still laughing, he stepped hesitantly into the roboticizer, shoes and all, then giving one final glace at the lens above him, and taking a deep breath, he reached the knob with a shaking hand and twisted it, and the familiar hum began to throb above his head, blue light shining down. Sonic laughed again, scared, but this time he wasn't going to step out, and he stood his ground. This was it. He could barely believe he was doing this, and deep in his mind he had known he had finally snapped. But even as the energy washed down over him, replacing what he now saw as filthy fur and flesh with shiny, strong metal, he already knew it was too late for him anyway. Not because he was being roboticized, though. What was the point in resisting anyway? He was already driven to calling the Doctor master, playing the little game he wanted to play. By now, all roboticization was, was a change in appearance. He had long since snapped.

"Heh heh heh ha HA HA!" He continued laughing maniacally as first his feet became robotic, then the metal began creeping up his legs, his torso. It stung like anything, what skin he did have now on fire, but damn it, he was finally beginning to feel clean!

He watched his hand as flesh and blood was replaced by wires and armour, and he could feel the cold numbness of what was now robotic creep up his neck, over his mouth, and over his eyes, and for a moment, he saw only blackness. A second later, his optics flickered to life, but instead of seeing the bathroom he had now grown accustomed to, he saw the display he usually saw on the wide-screen in the room he was being held in……… And the same scene in the background of the dingy laboratory, but this time, no longer distorted. And one other change……..

"HA HA HA! At long last, I have finally have my nemesis just the way I want him!" Robotnik's fat frame waltzed into view, his hands rubbing together as he laughed maniacally, a grin spread under his bushy moustache.

Sonic knew he should attack the mad scientist in front of him, but as soon as he began to try, just as he expected, his whole body froze and he couldn't move. A pop-up message appeared in his vision, reading "Bad boy." For what seemed like several minutes, the now robotic hedgehog could only stand like that, and left Sonic inside agitated, for if there was one thing he couldn't stand, it was waiting. Finally, the pop-up message changed.

"C'mon, say it with Pride." It taunted.

Sonic knew what the program wanted of him.

He knew that he wouldn't be able to move until he gave in.

He tried to resist, he really did.

But it was futile.

He knew what the program wanted him to say.

"What is your command, Master?" The robotic hedgehog turned his face to look up at the fat scientist looming over him.

Damn, there was that satisfying feeling again.

"Oh look! Some guests have arrived for the party too!" Robotnik's grin grew even wider, looking at a console. Hearing something hard hit one of the metal doors of the laboratory, Sonic turned to see a orange two-tailed fox burst onto the scene, followed by several more of his friends.

Oddly enough, Sonic couldn't make himself to feel anything more than disgust at the sight of fur.

Tails looked around, taking everything in. His eyes drifted over Sonic, then moved past before doing a double-take, then stopped to glare angrily at Robotnik.

"Robotnik……." Fists clenched at his sides, he hissed in a voice Sonic never heard him use before, filled up with rage as the fox was. The Doctor merely laughed at him.

"Tails, I'd like to introduce you to my latest ally, Mecha Sonic. Mecha Sonic, you know what you have to do."

Yes, Sonic agreed, he knew what to do……

"Robotnik, you………….. You…" Tails let out a choice string of words kids his age shouldn't really know.

…And Sonic knew he wasn't going to get anywhere unless he played the damn game Robotnik wanted him playing….

The pop-up message appeared on the screen once more. "Are you sure you wish to proceed?" It enquired.

He had no choice. He really didn't.

"Yes, Master."

Tails froze, ceasing his cussing, looking up at the robotic hedgehog in horror, his orange fur now shaded red from the lights now blazing from Mecha Sonic's optics…..

Hesitantly, but surely, the hedgehog's arms rose, pointing at the fox who had now backed up against the wall.

"No…." Tails whispered, shaking his head and looking at Sonic pleadingly. "Please, don't do it……"

And he knew he shouldn't. He tried turning away, tried to say something reassuring, but when he did, there was that damn pop-up message again.

"Please…….."

"All Hail Robotnik!"


End file.
